Jet Airways left red-faced after family Labrador dies of a heart-attack on Delhi-Chennai flight

A DCGA official said the dog might have died after a fall in oxygen pressure on the plane (stock image)

India's leading private carrier Jet Airways was left red-faced when a three-year-old pet Labrador died of cardiac arrest in the cargo hold of its New Delhi-Chennai flight.

A Jet Airways spokesperson said the dog was accepted for carriage on Jet Airways flight 9W 835 from Delhi to Chennai on July 24 with a family.

"The pet was transported to the aircraft in accordance with the standard airline procedures and IATA's (International Air Transport Association) pet safety guidelines.

On arrival at Chennai, the flight staff noticed that the dog was lying still and alerted the owner, who was travelling from Shimla to Chennai via Delhi with his family.

"The pet was rushed to a veterinary hospital but was declared brought dead," the spokesperson said.

A DGCA official said the case will be investigated if they receive a complaint against the airline.

"The Labrador died of cardiac arrest. It could be a case of fall in oxygen pressure on the plane. But it would be easy to detect as the airline maintains a log book of these details," the official said.

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Planes are automatically put on pressurised oxygen when there's a sudden fall in the oxygen level. According to the Jet Airways website, the airline is not liable for any injury or death of a pet. But a Delhi consumer court had, in 2011, ordered Jet Airways to pay compensation to the owner of two dogs which died on one of their Mumbai-Delhi flights in May 2009.

The death of the Labrador comes on the heels of the death of a pet cat named James Dean, bound for Singapore on a Jet Airways flight. The cat died on the tarmac during the process of being taken on board the flight in New Delhi.